Work is actively under way at Cottages at Cathedral Square.By MELISSA CROCKETT MESKE A project long time in the making is soon to be a reality for Belleville’s St. Peter Cathedral parish. Cottages at Cathedral Square, a 32-unit senior living community, is right on track to open its doors to residents in September of this year. The project’s general contractor is IMPACT Strategies Inc. The $6 million-plus residential community will have five buildings totaling more than 31,000 square feet and is located adjacent to the Cathedral. The site is bordered by South First, South Second, West Harrison, and West Garfield Streets in downtown Belleville. The architect on the project is EWR Associates, Inc. whose design kept within the features and aesthetics already in place throughout downtown, reflective of the old-school charm of Belleville’s yesteryear. Cottages Limited Partnership of Chicago, Metropolitan Housing Development Corporation, Touchette Regional Hospital, Inc. and St. Louis Equity Fund, Inc. have partnered to develop the property according to plans conceived initially by leaders of the Cathedral parish. Resident Management Services, Inc. will be serving as the property manager for Cottages at Cathedral Square. Inspired by what they had witnessed with the recently developed St. Patrick Center project in St. Louis, parish leaders at St. Peter’s wanted to do the same type of thing for the seniors here, particularly for those who are financially struggling. “This has been a project that the Cathedral has worked on for several years, well before IMPACT became involved. It has been a long-time plan for them to see this development adjacent to their property so they can better serve the needs of the city’s seniors,” Scott Manning of IMPACT said. Jerry Burka of Cottages Limited Partnership, whose firm provides financial and development consulting services for this project, said that IMPACT was chosen as the general contractor for this project “because they are a good, patient contractor. ... They have been willing to invest their time all along the way, even before the ground was broken.” This project is one of several multi-housing and senior living projects built by Fairview Heights-based IMPACT Strategies, Inc. throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area.